A risky solution for the wrong problem: Why GMOs won’t feed the hungry of the world

Journal or Publishing Institution: Geographical Review

Study: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/gere.12259?fref=gc

Author(s): Moseley, W.G.

Article Type: Journal Publication

Record ID: 1251

There’s a standard setup that many food-policy experts use to frame the global hunger problem and its solution. It typically goes like this. We have a global population of 7.5 billion today of which nearly a billion suffer from chronic hunger. With a projected world population of approximately 10 billion by 2050, we simply have to produce more food to meet demand and feed the hungry. As such, we must use all available technologies, including genetically modified organisms (GMOs), to achieve this end (Pinstrup-Andersen and Schiøler 2003; Collier 2008; Juma 2011).

This essay interrogates the assertion that GMO crops ought to be a key part of a strategy to address global hunger. While the use of GMO crops in agriculture may be motivated by a number of factors, here I narrowly address their use as a hunger-mitigation strategy. A geographic and political-ecology perspective informs my critique.

Citation: Moseley, W.G., 2017. A Risky Solution for the Wrong Problem: Why GMOs won’t Feed the Hungry of the World. Geographical Review, 107(4), pp.578-583.